Awkward
by The Last Poison Apple
Summary: Dawn's finally here, but she can't bring herself to just knock on the door... It's just too awkward for her when she doesn't know if Cynthia feels the same way or if she was never serious. Girlpowershipping. Takes place around pre-BW085.


**Hey guys! This is my first fic for the Pokemon fandom, and I think I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. For the purposes of this fic, Dawn is 16 and Cynthia's 21. Takes place in Unova -about the time Dawn comes back for the Pokemon World Tournament Junior Cup. Cynthia's visit to Virbank does not take place in this fic.**

**Enjoy, and do leave your thoughts and feedback in a review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.**

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There was no other word for it but "awkward".

Dawn stood outside the villa, wondering if she should knock. On one hand, the logical side of her said that she obviously should, seeing as she was here on _her_ invitation, but the emotional side of her was too embarrassed to look the Champion in the eye. After several minute's deliberation –and hesitation –she turned on her heel and left, carrying her small suitcase with her. She didn't have to stay here, really –even if she didn't know a single bit of Unova at all, she figured she'd probably be able to get a room at the Pokemon Center (obviously the one in the next town, seeing as a close proximity to the Champion of Sinnoh would be a bad, bad idea) for the next week or so.

She walked to the edge of Undella, going through the gate (she paused to check on the weather, heaving a sigh of relief upon noting the weather would be good for flying) and releasing her Togekiss from its pokeball once she stepped onto the route. It was for the best, she rationalized with herself. She'd send word to Cynthia later of the abrupt change in her plans, along with her apologies, of course. This… This was just better all around.

"So, Togekiss," she said softly to the winged Pokemon beside her, "think you can get us to the next town before nightfall?"

She stiffened when a familiar voice came from behind her. "Undoubtedly it could, but I wouldn't recommend it."

"Cynthia," she breathed, turning around to face her. She was in a sleeveless light blue top, with her usual black hair clips and black pants. Her hair was just as long as ever, and she struck a comfortable pose that told Dawn she wasn't feeling in the least bit as awkward as she was.

"Dawn," the Champion replied, with a nod. "It's nice to see you again."

Dawn watched her lips move, and the memory of that moment they had shared, one night long ago in Sinnoh, made her blush. They hadn't done much; their lips had all but brushed against each other's, but Dawn couldn't remember it without strong emotions flooding her.

She had never wanted to run away from a wild Pokemon as badly as she wanted to run away from Cynthia right now.

"I… Um, yeah, it's nice to see you too, Cynthia," she managed to get out.

The Champion arched an eyebrow. "Oh? So what's all this about leaving without telling me and running into the next town even though you'd accepted my offer to stay in my villa?"

_Busted,_ Dawn thought scathingly. "I… had an errand to run," she said, trying not to appear _too_ hesitant.

Not good enough, apparently. "An errand, huh?" Cynthia asked. "You brought yourself all the way to my door, stood there for ten minutes and twenty-three seconds, and in the end decided to just leave for your errand without telling me? It wouldn't have taken long to knock."

"You were counting?" Dawn found herself asking, and then chided herself for the question. Her cheeks heated up, and she broke the eye contact, looking down.

Cynthia didn't even blink. "You must have been very out of it, because I was watching you from the window next to the door," Cynthia said. She leaned against Dawn's Togekiss, who nudged her playfully with the tip of its wing. Togekiss had always been fond of Cynthia, Dawn mused, suddenly jealous of her Pokemon. It really wasn't fair that it was so at ease with Cynthia, while she wasn't…

"Tell me, Dawn, what's on your mind?" Cynthia asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.

The question, though, plunged her into a whole different pool of memories, and she found that she couldn't answer Cynthia, instead opting to shake her head. "It's… It's nothing," she stammered, nervously grinding the toe of her shoe into the dirt path.

There was a long silence that stretched out for miles between them. "Is this about the kiss?" Cynthia asked, suddenly.

Dawn stiffened, swallowing hard. In truth, the kiss had been, physically, close to nothing –their lips had barely brushed against each other's, and it was over as quickly as it had started. Was this about the kiss? Not directly, no.

It was about the realization that had come with it.

She gave Cynthia nothing but a stiff shrug, lifting her gaze just enough for her to watch the Champion's reaction. The Champion was watching her intently, her features schooled into a puzzled frown. Like Dawn was a puzzle she couldn't quite solve. "Was it that… you weren't okay with that?"

"No!" Dawn protested, before she could catch herself. She blushed more, looking away again. "I mean… _no_."

"Then… Would you like to talk about it?" Cynthia asked.

Dawn didn't know what to say; she shrugged again, clenching her fist tightly. _Arceus_, this was just _so_ awkward… "I'm sorry, Cynthia –I can't –I don't know… I –I can't say it."

"Could it be that you've decided you don't return the feelings?" Cynthia asked, gently.

Dawn's eyes widened –that was the complete opposite of what she felt. "It's not that! It's just…"

"Just?" The Champion prompted.

"Just this," Dawn said, before taking one tentative step towards Cynthia and pressing her lips against hers.

At first, Cynthia was completely unresponsive, and Dawn worried she'd been too bold. But as she started to pull away, Cynthia wrapped her arm around her waist, pulled her back, and reciprocated the action.

It wasn't a long kiss, by any standards, but it was more than a brush of the lips, and when Dawn pulled back this time, her stomach was a twisted bunch of butterfrees which seemed to flutter about inside her. "Just that this is all I've wanted to do since I left," Dawn whispered. "And I wasn't sure if you felt the same way, or if it was wrong… Arceus, even my Pokemon got worried about me; I was such a mess after I'd left Sinnoh…"

"Shh," Cynthia shushed her. "You've got nothing to worry about, Dawn."

Their lips met again, and Dawn found herself thinking that, perhaps, being with Cynthia wasn't such an awkward thing to be doing after all.


End file.
